I recently mentioned the passing of Bob Cassidy and mentioned several long phone conversations I was lucky enough to have with him...we were discussing a trick (feat) I had invented/innovated and was trying to get published in a psychic newsletter he was involved with at the time (I forgot the name). Anyway, he liked the trick and that's why the long phone calls because he was helping me tweak it.

Because it used polaroid pictures, which have gone obsolete by now, it is no longer Do-able, but I want to describe it to you in hopes that someone may be able to figure out how to revive it with new technology (I have one possible method for use with the new tech.

Because of time restraints I will break this up into installments under the topic of Polaroid Princess, which is what Bob called it. So, soon, like next week I'll describe what it was all about. Then I'll tell you my thoughts of how to revive it, and then I'll encourage you all to come up with other new ways to use Polaroid Princess which will need a new name too.

Luckily I got more time today, so thanks to the inspiration I'll explain more about Princess. Right from the start I considered the trick to be a thing for a real show with a real audience, because there was some expense for the film packs, plus you need lots of people. The idea was to mingle with the people before the show and have pictures taken of you with various people that you tell will be IN THE SHOW that is coming up.

Next comes my best explanation for some mnemonic work (or you could work up a crib sheet for in the camera case). Anyway, the core idea is that you have a list of visual types of people that correspond to numbers 1-15 (let's say). You should work up your own mnemonic if you really want to use this. I'll give an example. 1-short man with no glasses or facial hair. 2-short woman with no glasses. 3-tall man with no glasses or facial hair. 4-tall woman with no glasses. 5-short man with glasses and no facial hair. 6-short man with glasses and facial hair. 7-short woman with glasses. Etc. You get the idea...linking 'types' with numbers on the list. The list can grow if you can include baldness. You can expand the list if there are children, boys and girls, and with or without glasses. Old people can be another 'type'.

I'm not saying this is easy, but after the taking of the photos and before the show itself you would have time to customize your list and I recommend some way to have a crib sheet somewhere. The reason for having yourself standing next to each person is so you can hand the photos out to the people who participated and you could use a rubber stamp or stickers on the back with your contact info for future shows.

So after this point it is a card trick with a setup, except they are photos not cards. I use the Charlier Shuffle, which Erdnase says is not good, but these days it IS good for mentalists but it must be done casually. Charles Reynolds taught me that it can be done with a small packet - work on it - and that it is most deceptive face up (even with playing cards.)

We're almost there. Do your false shuffles and false cuts. Then as you have one 'taken', you keep a break and ultimately cut to the break casually and glimpse the face "card"(actually photo) during an all around square, just tilt the packet enough to see the bottom photo at a skewed angle. Next you just count ahead one more in your mnemonic list and you know the photo chosen !

To sell it, I guess it would clairvoyance (or is it thought reading. You are reading the thoughts of the person who chose the photo. I guess it would depend on if you had them look at it or not.) I think the clairvoyance angle is stronger. To reveal the person in the photo, you could describe the person and all your prep work has prepared you pretty well for this. Eventually find the person in question.

There you have it. I hope I didn't bore anybody. By the way, I've heard bare outlines of Bob Cassidy's life, and it is very interesting, but mainly I want people to know that my impression is that he was a very nice man when plenty of people in show biz have attitudes. He didn't, at least not with me.

I did use this in shows at one time. All I can say is that after one show people took me out on their yacht but then wanted stock advice ! Well, I had also done Hen Fetch's Mental Epic ! And I bailed out and told them it was just a trick. I was younger then.

A performer could sell it as remote viewing, which is hot. Even sketch the basic look of the person on a pad and then verbally describe the finer details as the spectator concentrates more and more on the selected photo. Very nice -- this is an up-to-date idea, owing to the resurgence of interest in instant photos.